After he and his mother noticed a room filled with teenagers at the end of Fleisher’s second-floor hallway, Oumar discovered Teen Lounge. Now, seven years later, Oumar has reflected on his experiences in Fleisher’s celebrated program as he embarks on a new adventure at Temple University this fall.

I joined Teen Lounge back in 2013, weeks shy of my 13th birthday. I had just finished my comics class, and my mom saw a room all the way down the hall where there were a bunch of teenagers. So my mom recommended that I visit that room, and we found out that the room that we were in was full of people in a program called Teen Lounge. I had never known what that program was until that moment. So my mom recommended me to join, and I joined. Seven years later, I’m still in but I will be leaving the program in May 2021. 

 
My experience in Teen Lounge has been mostly positive. I have met new people, made new friends, and learned a lot about different types of art. And the coordinators past and present have been really supportive, kind, fair, and respectful. They’ve made the program even better than it already was and is.
 
Teen Lounge is an interesting program. It is a program that is free but has so much value. Teen Lounge is a great program to socialize with other teens, make new friends, and explore new things while at the same time creating art and learning art.

 
I will cherish my favorite memories of Teen Lounge and Fleisher overall. Some of my favorite memories are when I directed a short movie and that time when I was part of a group, and we visited a park nearby Fleisher to take pictures as part of a photography class. 
 
After leaving Teen Lounge, I will be studying at Temple University, transferring there from Community College of Philadelphia. I will be studying neuroscience at Temple’s College of Liberal Arts. I already committed to Temple, and I am excited about the fall!